To truly say we are in the midst of the presence of God, the truth of God’s word must be present, as God’s word is the living word and not a book. You would think that is obvious, but the church has set the word of God aside, which means Jesus has been set aside. If we truly want to be in the presence of God, we must return to God’s word and once again be His witnesses, instead of witnessing man’s accomplishments. Jesus said to the Samaritan woman John 4:3 “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” 25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” John 1:14 “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus said John 17:17 “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” The problem is the church is not being sanctified because truth is nowhere to be found as the church has gone their own ways and left the way and truth that gives life. Isaiah said Isaiah 59:15 “Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. The Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice.” Daniel explains why there is a lack of truth in the church. Daniel 8:12 “Because of rebellion, the Lord’s people and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground.” The church rebelled against God by rejecting His word. The church has added to and subtracted from, all in an effort to make the bible more palatable for their own purposes and the church is no longer witnessing as we were intended to do, which is why the church has been in decline and powerless. 

    The bible, God’s word explains everything and is all we need but you would not know it looking at the church. As God said Zechariah 1:2 “The Lord was very angry with your ancestors. 3 Therefore tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty. 4 Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the earlier prophets proclaimed: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices.’ But they would not listen or pay attention to me, declares the Lord.” The church needs to return to God so that His presence in the church will return and once again the church will do as Jesus did and be His witnesses. What we have in God’s word is an account from witnesses of everything from beginning to end. The bible starts with God’s own witness of His creation and then He instructs the witnesses down through the ages to record His word. 2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Peter 1:20 “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” The bible stands alone because of this. The bible is not a book, but the living words of God. As Moses said Deuteronomy 32:47 “They are not just idle words for you—they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.” We are told what happens if His word is not our life. Deuteronomy 4:25 “After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time—if you then become corrupt and make any kind of idol, doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God and arousing his anger, 26 I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live there long but will certainly be destroyed. 27 The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the Lord will drive you.”

    Paul tells us Ephesians 2:19 “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” Peter tells us 2 Peter 3:1 “Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. 2 I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.” All throughout the Old Testament there were prophets and even more so after the people told Moses Deuteronomy 18:16 “Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.” 17 The Lord said to me: “What they say is good. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. 19 I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name.” 

    From Abraham, Moses, Samuel, David to all the prophets during the kings of Israel and Judah and all the unnamed prophets, God spoke His word to His people for then and for the future. The prophets would speak of present blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. They would also speak of blessing that would come in the future for obedience and destruction that would come in the future for disobedience. We were told Amos 3:7 “Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets. Deuteronomy 28 and Leviticus 26 explains the blessing for obedience and the curses for disobedience. Malachi 3:10 “Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” The prophets spoke to the people and warned them over and over. 2 Kings 17:13 “The Lord warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers: “Turn from your evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your ancestors to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the prophets.” Jeremiah 7:23 “I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you. 24 But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward. 25 From the time your ancestors left Egypt until now, day after day, again and again I sent you my servants the prophets. 26 But they did not listen to me or pay attention. They were stiff-necked and did more evil than their ancestors.”

    The prophets were witnesses of God’s word and brought testimony to the people.Legally “a witness is a person who saw or heard the crime take place or may have important information about the crime or the defendant. Both the defense and the prosecutor can call witnesses to testify or tell what they know about the situation. What the witness actually says in court is called testimony.” God saw everything and sent His prophets to testify against those who disobeyed. 2 Chronicles 24:18 “They abandoned the temple of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and worshiped Asherah poles and idols. Because of their guilt, God’s anger came on Judah and Jerusalem. 19 Although the Lord sent prophets to the people to bring them back to him, and though they testified against them, they would not listen.” For example, God sent Nathan to David and said 2 Samuel 12:9 “Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.” 

    When a prophet spoke, they said “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says,” or hear the word of the Lord or “this is what the Sovereign Lord says.” In the NIV, Ezekiel says “This is what the Sovereign Lord says” says 122 times. Other versions say “thus saith or says” as many times. Ezekiel was told Ezekiel 3:27 “But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’ Whoever will listen let them listen, and whoever will refuse let them refuse; for they are a rebellious people.” When a prophet spoke, the words were the words of God. Their words would be fulfilled, or they would be a false prophet. 1 Samuel 3:19 “The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground.” Daniel prayed and said Daniel 9:6 “We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land. 10 we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. 11 All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you. “Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you. 12 You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster.” Over and over the God warned His people with His prophets and what they said would take place. Jeremiah 35:15 “Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets to you. They said, “Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and reform your actions; do not follow other gods to serve them. Then you will live in the land I have given to you and your ancestors.” But you have not paid attention or listened to me.” Nehemiah 9:26 “But they were disobedient and rebelled against you; they turned their backs on your law. They killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you; they committed awful blasphemies.”  2 Chronicles 36:16 “But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the Lord was aroused against his people and there was no remedy.”

    There is a teaching in the church today that is so ridiculous it is hard to believe that people have actually fallen for it. It is called “The Mountain Peaks of Prophecy” a teaching to help verify false dispensational beliefs. It basically states that the prophets only saw the peeks of the mountains not the distances in between them. They also didn’t see the church age. I briefly watched a video that was dated 2016, so people still are emphatically teaching this nonsense. As we just talked about, prophets were God’s servants and spoke His word. To say they could not see, states God could not see and did not know His own plan. Jesus is all through the Old Testament and since Jesus is the head of the church, to say the prophets didn’t see the church is ridiculous but then again so is dispensational teaching. As we read earlier, Ephesians 2:19 “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.” Jesus said Matthew 13:16 “But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” How can they long for something they did see?

         This leads us to the false prophets. Just as there were true prophets of God who spoke God’s word, there were also false prophets who did not. We have talked a lot about those, so I won’t spend much time there. You can read passages like Ezekiel 13, Jeremiah 23 but throughout scripture these lying prophets are talked about. Jeremiah 14:14 “Then the Lord said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds.” Ezekiel 13:3 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!” Today the spirit of those same prophets still spew lies in the church.

    There were many false prophets throughout the land who did not speak for God. Jeremiah 23:33 “When these people, or a prophet or a priest, ask you, ‘What is the message from the Lord?’ say to them, ‘What message? I will forsake you, declares the Lord.’ 34 If a prophet or a priest or anyone else claims, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ I will punish them and their household. 35 This is what each of you keeps saying to your friends and other Israelites: ‘What is the Lord’s answer?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 36 But you must not mention ‘a message from the Lord’ again, because each one’s word becomes their own message. So you distort the words of the living God, the Lord Almighty, our God. 37 This is what you keep saying to a prophet: ‘What is the Lord’s answer to you?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ 38 Although you claim, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ this is what the Lord says: You used the words, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ even though I told you that you must not claim, ‘This is a message from the Lord.’ 39 Therefore, I will surely forget you and cast you out of my presence along with the city I gave to you and your ancestors. 40 I will bring on you everlasting disgrace—everlasting shame that will not be forgotten.” Here we see there were many false prophets. In 1 Kings 22:5 “Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “First seek the counsel of the Lord. 6 So the king of Israel brought together the prophets—about four hundred men. 7 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no longer a prophet of the Lord here whom we can inquire of?” 8 The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one prophet through whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.” 

    In another example 1 Kings 18:21 “Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” But the people said nothing. 22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets.” God listened to Elijah. In this account, we also see the number of these false prophets. Elijah felt alone but did not know that 1 Kings 18:4 “While Jezebel was killing off the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water.” It is a serious offense to speak words that are not form God. Deuteronomy 18:20 “But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death.” 21 You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?” 22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed.” Even though prophets did not see all that the prophesied, the word of God proved them true. Today, many in the church are saying hear the word of the Lord when the Lord has not spoken through them.

    Not only did the words of the prophets speak to the listeners of the time, they also speak to the church today. Isaiah 9:2 “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” Just as in the Old Testament, the New Testament had witnesses that testified to God’s word and this testimony started with Jesus. Hebrews 1:1 “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.” Acts 3:22 “For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. 23 Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people.’ 24 “Indeed, beginning with Samuel, all the prophets who have spoken have foretold these days. 25 And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.’ 26 When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.” 

    Before Jesus you had John the Baptist preparing the way. Luke 1:6 “He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” John 1:6 “There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.” Malachi said, Malachi 4:5 “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.” When Jesus was talking about John the Baptist, He said, Matthew 11:13 “For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. 15 Whoever has ears, let them hear.” People even today still do not accept it. Later Jesus responded to His disciples Matthew 17:10 “The disciples asked him, “Why then do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?” 11 Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. 12 But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.” Like most prophets, Jesus and John were killed. Matthew 23:33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation. 37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. 38 Look, your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” 

    Notice that Malachi said, or he will strike the land with total destruction. Compare that with what Jesus said about Jerusalem and the temple. In the very next chapter Matthew 24:1 “Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 2 “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; everyone will be thrown down.” Just as the second temple was destroyed so has the third, the church. John himself said Matthew 3:10 “The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” The church has been decimated by the abomination that causes desolation because of rebellion against God’s word. Down through the ages, the church has not listened to the watchman. Jeremiah 6:17 “I appointed watchmen over you and said, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But you said, ‘We will not listen.’ 18 Therefore hear, you nations; you who are witnesses, observe what will happen to them. 19 Hear, you earth: I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their schemes, because they have not listened to my words and have rejected my law.” They also Jeremiah 5:12 “have lied about the Lord; they said, “He will do nothing! No harm will come to us; we will never see sword or famine.” This is why the words the prophets spoke in the Old Testament also apply to today. Israel and Judah did not listen to the prophets nor has the church listened to the prophets, Jesus and the apostles, therefore like Israel and Judah, the warnings of the prophets have taken place. We have no excuse as it is all written down right before us. Jesus warned us, Matthew 24:15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. 22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.” Daniel had prophesied, Daniel 9:27 “And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.” Paul said 2 Thessalonians 2:4 “He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God. 9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, 10 and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.” Paul also said as did Jesus, Acts 20:29 “I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.” The church has been decimated and stands desolate and powerless. 

    The bible is God’s word made up of His witnesses from both the Old and New Testament. 2 Peter 1:21 “For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” Revelation 22:6 “The angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place. 7 “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.” When Jesus came, everything changed, but there were still witness of the truth and just like the Old Testament there were witnesses who do not tell the truth. Jesus would speak the truth and the disciples / apostles where witnesses and testified about the truth. Jesus told His disciples Matthew 10:18 “On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles.” Luke 24:46 “He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Peter said Acts 10:39 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, 40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

    When the word of God became flesh and walked the earth, there were those who got to participate in the gospel account from the time Jesus was born to when Acts 1:9 “He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.” They were His witnesses. There were those like the shepherds who witnessed the birth of Jesus. Jesus was born into a family, though at first, they struggled to believe, yet they would become His witnesses. Jesus had disciples, who also struggled to believe, even though they witnessed His life firsthand as they followed and then they too would proclaim fearlessly all that they saw. Then there were the masses who gathered around Jesus looking to be healed, Luke 17:12 “As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” 14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. 15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” Some would follow, while others would shout crucify Him, crucify Him and would participate in the murder of Jesus. Acts 2:36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” Then there were those who saw Jesus after He rose from the dead. Acts 3:15 “You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.” Acts 2:32 “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it” They all had the privilege of being part of the presence of God’s glory and kingdom.

    Jesus came at God’s perfect time. Luke gives us a detailed account of this, but he also explains the importance of the witnesses of Jesus. Every year at Christmas time, people gather to hear the Christmas story but miss the point and have ceased being witnesses of Jesus the Messiah as they have stopped obeying His word. Church has become an event you go to instead of being a life changing, everlasting event in your life where you become a witness so that others will also be changed forever. The idea is not to get more and more people into a building and call it church. Luke says Luke 1:1 “Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. 3 With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.” Even Luke tested the spirits. Witnesses believe God’s word and know with certainty His word is truth and tell others about it. John 1:41 “The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” Scripture is our witness from God and from those who were present and it cannot be added to or subtracted from. Revelation 22:18 “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.” Today a prophet’s job is not to add to scripture but to declare the words of God people do not want to hear. These were the witnesses of this world changing life of Jesus, but this was just the beginning, as the witnessing was to continue in the church. Jesus said Matthew 28:18 “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” The church stopped teaching obedience and rebelled instead. This week we will be looking at God’s anger because of our rebellion. Jeremiah 25:4 “And though the Lord has sent all his servants the prophets to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention. 5 They said, “Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land the Lord gave to you and your ancestors for ever and ever. 6 Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them; do not arouse my anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you. 7 “But you did not listen to me,” declares the Lord, “and you have aroused my anger with what your hands have made, and you have brought harm to yourselves.”

    Jesus showed us what we were to do as a church. “Doing church” was another bad church slogan. Instead of following the manual, His word that God has required us to obey, the church wrote their own and went searching for whoever could do church best, which meant usually for an hour or too. Usually, these churches doing church were not cloneable, sometimes people got close, but not the same. Every time a guru appears on the horizon, people flock to them. The common denominator for those “doing church” is a lack of power and what they were doing did not look at all like Jesus but more of a Fortune 500 business model. They would even write down all their ideas so other could buy their vision they supposedly had from God. What would we have done without all the visons man has had about the church? God must have really blown it with the New Testament when it came to the church. Man had to step in a fix it but that is satan’s deception. God doesn’t need any help with His word as far as His plan goes, as it is perfect and supposed to be powerful. We are simply supposed to be witnesses and testify to others and if we do as Jesus said Mark 16:20 “He would confirm his word by the signs that accompany it.” If we obeyed His word, he would give us His authority and power to do as He did. Doing church man’s way can appear successful, but in the end, people will be worse off than they were before. 2 Peter 2:17 “These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. 18 For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.” 20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and are overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. We were not supposed to “do church,” we were supposed to go and do as Jesus did, there is a big difference. Not only did Jesus show us, but He also empowered us to do as He did with power from on High. Luke 24:48 “You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” As we read earlier, that power comes when we worship in Spirit and in truth. God’s power will not be present if we do not follow His word wholeheartedly. The church today is witness to that powerlessness and the apathy is the testimony of rebellion. 

    Jesus is the beginning of everything in the church. Colossians 1:18 “And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” Jesus said Revelation 1:5 “Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 22:13 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” Colossians 1:15 “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Paul tells us Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” Many forget that we are to be like Jesus. God is not just working for our good so we can have a good life. Many get hung up on the predestination part, but it is false to say only certain people were predestined to spend eternity with God. I heard a guy preach one time that said from the pulpit some of you here today are not chosen. That begs the question why was he so certain he was chosen? But we know John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

         The plan is for all to be conformed to the image of God’s Son but not all will respond and obey. Jesus is the beginning; the firstborn and we are to be His witnesses so that there will be fruit. Ephesians 1:3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. 11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.” It is only a guarantee if we remain true to God’s word.

    Here Paul talks about being witnesses. 1 Corinthians 15:12 “But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.” Thankfully Paul doesn’t stop there. 20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” 55 “Where, O death, is your victory?     Where, O death, is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Colossians 1:28 “He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. 29 To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.”

    There was predestination when it came to God’s witnesses. Israel was God’s witness. Isaiah 43:10 “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen. You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “that I am God.” It was said about Jeremiah, Jeremiah 1:4 “The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”Jesus chose the disciples. Matthew 10:1 “Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.” When Paul was called, Acts 9:5 “the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” Acts 26:15 “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. 16 ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. 17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” Acts 22:12 “A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. 13 He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him. 14 “Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. 15 You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard.” So yes, there is a form of predestination as God chooses certain people to be His witnesses. They then go out and proclaim His name to others and so on and so on. You had the disciples who were the first to put their hope in Jesus, and followed Him. The disciples were the beginning of many disciples who were witnesses of the gospel. Jesus said to His disciples Matthew 13:16 “blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” Then you had those who listened to the disciple and followed Jesus.

    Paul describes the plan to be like Jesus and how they, the first disciples would also be firstfruits and those who believed their message would be the firstfruits of those who listened to their message. 2 Thessalonians 2:13 “But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 14 He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.” 1 Thessalonians 1:4 “For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. 6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. 7 And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, 9 for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath. 1 Thessalonians 2:13 “And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe. 14 For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus.” These witnesses were the first to respond but then they became a model to follow and other witnesses would follow.

    In order to follow the plan, we must follow God’s word wholeheartedly. Peter, James and John were alone with Jesus and had this amazing experience. Jesus Mark 9:2 “led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. 4 And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.” Of course, Peter was talking and Matthew 17:5 “While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” I could not help but think about the glitter bomb, Bethel had that we talked about the other day. Instead of being witnessed to the word of God, they became witnesses of satan. If they had listened to Jesus, His word, they would not have been deceived but they took their eyes off of Jesus, the word of God. If they had tested the spirits, they would have fallen on their faces before God, but instead they were deceived. 

    Jesus was the beginning of many brothers and sisters, but Jesus changed what family meant once you became a disciple. Jesus said to put Him first over family and He would bless you.  Matthew 19:29 “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” But the dynamics have changed, as family cannot be first over Jesus. Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” He said Matthew 12:48 “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” His own family thought Jesus was crazy, Mark 3:21 “When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind,” and his hometown would not believe, Matthew 13:54 “Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. 55 “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? 56 Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.” 58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.”

         The good news is His family also became witnesses of the Messiah as they were present at Pentecost. Jesus told His disciples Luke 24:46 “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Then in Acts we see Acts 1:4 “On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Notice they still did not get what the kingdom actually meant, that is until Pentecost. Even so, they obeyed and stayed in the city, although there were more witnesses than those who had gathered. 1 Corinthians 15:6 “After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.” At this time there were about one-hundred and twenty. Acts 1:15 “In those days Peter stood up among the believers. (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty)” The good news among those who would be witnesses of Jesus, Acts 1:14 “They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.” Even Mary had to bow before Jesus and submit to King.

    I think one of the most amazing witnesses were the women who believed even when the disciples did not. On the road to Emmaus, Jesus after rising from the dead was walking with a couple of disciples. Luke 24:17 “He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19 “What things?” he asked. “About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”  Jesus then admonished them. 25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” Mark 16:9 “When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. 11 When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it. 12 Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. 13 These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.14 Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.” God took the women who had no voice and gave them a historic proclamation that Jesus was alive.

    It really is amazing how the disciples did not believe but it shouldn’t be as the church is filled with people who still do not believe all that is written. They think they are witnesses but really have nothing to say. We must believe all that is written even if we have not seen all that is written. Jesus made this statement to Thomas who was doubting. John 20:29 “Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Many people must see something to believe, even then, they still refuse to believe. Today return to God’s word and believe. The disciples were told, Luke 24:48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” Acts 1:4 “On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 

    If we are to be witnesses, we must return to God’s word and wait for His to turn His face back to us and empower us once again with power from on High. 1 Corinthians 15:1 “Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.” Matthew 24:12 “12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”